


The last sandwich

by nicole_kaiwo



Series: The tale of two stars. [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Blackinnon Week 2021, Comfort Food, Cooking, F/M, blackinnon, remadora mentioned, week of lasts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:09:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29938752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nicole_kaiwo/pseuds/nicole_kaiwo
Summary: Blackinnon Week 2021 - A Week of LastsDay #2!This story also contains a small Remadora scene. I love Remadora to much, so it was impossible for me not to add at least a bit of them.And it's also about my other big love - food! yummy!Hope you will enjoy it! :DPS Harry Potter belongs to JKR
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks, Sirius Black/Marlene McKinnon
Series: The tale of two stars. [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2198337
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	The last sandwich

* * *

**T** hey rarely cooked for one another. Due to their duties in the Order and different working hours, they usually didn't have time to eat together at all. And when they did spend time together, they were either invited to their friend's place for dinner, or they preferred to spend the time in a different way.

So one day, Sirius surprised her with a dinner for two, and her reaction was certainly worth the hours spent over pots and cookers. And he didn't have to wait long for her to return the same gesture.

Just a few days later, he returned from some mission to a house filled with beautiful smells. And in the kitchen, he found Marlene waiting for him with dinner ready. As he saw what she had cooked, Sirius felt a little ashamed that he had only made some pasta for her.

Marlene had a gift for cooking. Everything she served was just perfect. Her dishes were not only a wonderful sensation for the tongue but also for the eye. She created dishes like she created her paintings. She poured all her creativity, soul and personality into them.

Her dishes looked as if they had been prepared by a real chef. She served food that Sirius didn't even know existed. And she decorated them like little masterpieces.

Sirius' signature dishes were fish and chips, pasta with tomato sauce and mac and cheese. And Marlene served dishes such as saddle of venison on kashotto with mushrooms and kale chip, celery steak with scorzonera puree or cod fillet with burre blanc sauce and rhubarb and fennel assiette.

Most often, Sirius had no idea at all what he was putting into his mouth. But it didn't matter because he was never disappointed. Her dishes were always delicious. Whatever they were.

It was ironic that of all the dishes she prepared for him, his favourite was... a cheese sandwich.

Well, Marlene simply made the best cheese sandwich in the world! It was, obviously, a very simple dish. However, Sirius was never able to duplicate the taste of the sandwich prepared by her. He had no idea what exactly made her sandwich better than any other. There was just.... That something!

Marlene was aware of the fact that for Sirius, the cheese sandwich was her best dish. But she wasn't entirely thrilled about it. Every time she served him some new fancy meal, she would ask if it was better than the cheese sandwich. Many dishes came close to it, but none managed to beat the taste of this sandwich.

Eventually, Marlena stopped worrying that her Risotto with crawfish and mussels couldn't beat the taste of a regular sandwich. And when she knew they wouldn't be able to have a meal together, she would prepare this sandwich for Sirius so he could eat it later. Marlene often made larger portions and hid some in the fridge. She would also put a spell on the container to keep the sandwiches fresh.

When Marlene left home one day and never returned, three sandwiches were left in the fridge.

Sirius didn't believe in her death. But her absence was becoming more and more noticeable with each passing day. And as the days went by, the traces she left behind began to fade.

Lily washed the glass she had left in the sink. A few days later, James put the book she had left on the coffee table back on the shelf. And one day Sirius has thoughtlessly taken her towel and washed it along with his own. He had been very unfocused that day because he had thrown his Gryffindor red sweatshirt into the washing machine along with the two cream towels. It wasn't until he took the laundry out and saw that her towel was soiled with pink stains and not even a strand of her hair was on it that he realised what he had done.

At some point, even her room stopped smelling like her perfume.

Her absence was becoming more and more annoying.

Sirius believed she was alive and would one day walk through their front door and throw herself longingly around his neck. But nevertheless, he treated all the remains of her like relics.

The three sandwiches left in the fridge tempted him every time he opened it. He decided, however, that he would save them for a special occasion. Sirius knew very well that the spell she used on the box would keep the sandwich fresh for many, many years. However, once the box was opened, the spell would go, and there was no way to cast it again.

When he ended up in Azkaban, he would get the same slush every day, which would look like mud. Then Sirius regretted not eating those sandwiches, as he was sure he would never have the chance to taste them again.

For twelve years, he had dreamt of those sandwiches many times. When he finally escaped, he wondered if he should take a chance and go for them. One day he even went to the area around his old flat with that intention. But unfortunately, it was under constant surveillance by several Aurors.

A second chance came when the Order of the Phoenix was reactivated. During one meeting of the Order, it turned out that they needed some documents from the First War that were still in his flat. And Tonks volunteered to go and get them. As an Auror, she could enter his flat under the pretext of looking for some evidence, and it would not arouse anyone's suspicions.

Taking the opportunity, Sirius asked his baby cousin to bring him the three boxes from his fridge.

"Sirius, you do realise that these sandwiches are now definitely in the final stages of decomposition, right?"

"A freshness spell was cast on them," he explained. "Just bring them with you, okay?"

Sirius had never told Tonks about Marlena, and he didn't feel like explaining it to her then. Though he had a feeling that Tonks already knew about who she was and what Marlene McKinnon meant to him. He suspected Remus might have told her something during one of their all-night missions. (They had surprisingly many such missions together.)

On the day Tonks was due to return from her mission to his flat, Sirius couldn't concentrate on anything. He wondered what he should do with those sandwiches. Should he save them for later again? No, he had been dreaming of tasting them for far too long. He missed them almost as much as the person who made them. In the end, he decided to eat one today and leave the other two for later.

Remus decided to keep him busy with conversation while they waited for Tonks. And at some point, they heard a loud bang, followed by loud shouts from his mother's portrait.

They both knew what had happened. Tonks had tripped over the umbrella stand. Again. In no time, he and Remus ran to the ground floor to help her.

When they got there, Sirius suddenly petrified. Remus stepped around him and went over to help Tonks up from the ground. Usually, in moments like this, Sirius went to cover his mother's portrait. But this time, he was unable to move even an inch.

His gaze was fixed on the floor. Lying on it was a box and a smashed sandwich. His sandwich.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!"

Tonks looked at him with horrified eyes, but Sirius didn't give a damn. The rage that possessed him was ten times stronger than his self-control.

"Must you always be so clumsy!! Couldn't you watch where you're walking for once?!"

Sirius felt like there was a potion boiling in his veins that could boil over in a second.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"I don't care that you're sorry! Look what you've done!!"

Suddenly Sirius realised that there was only one sandwich lying on the ground.

"Where are the other two?"

"There was only this one."

"WHAT?! Of course, there were more! There were three boxes in the fridge! THREE! What about the other two?!"

"Sirius," Remus reprimanded him.

"The other two boxes were already empty. Probably one of the Aurors who searched your apartment must have eaten them."

_No._

_This couldn't be happening._

The rage Sirius felt was only equalled by the anger he'd felt when he'd discovered fourteen years ago that Pettigrew had tricked them all.

"Sirius, it's just a sandwich," said Tonks in a soft voice. Probably to reassure him. However, it had the opposite effect.

"Just a sandwich?! Just a SANDWICH! How dare you say that! You..."

"Sirius!"

Suddenly Remus was standing between him and his cousin. His nostrils fluttered, and his pupils changed shape slightly. His face was one big warning sign for Sirius.

At first, he felt the urge to punch Remus. But then...

He calmed down. He suddenly realised what he was actually doing. Beating up his best friend and taking it out on the only relative he had contact with wasn't going to change anything. And certainly not for the better.

Sirius looked at the sandwich lying on the ground. After a brief moment of thought, he picked it up off the ground. The floor was actually relatively clean. And it was the only Marlene sandwich that still existed. It was possible that this would be the last time he would taste it. Sirius absolutely wouldn't let it go to waste. Had it been lying on the ground for more than ten seconds? Well... Whatever!

He returned to the kitchen and placed his sandwich on the best-looking plate. Remus and Tonks hadn't joined him, and he didn't hold it against them. He bet they probably went somewhere to talk about his outburst and were analysing his mental state. Pff...

Sirius knew he should apologise to them, but he didn't feel like it at the moment.

He concentrated entirely on his sandwich. Unfortunately, he couldn't cast the freshness spell on it again and leave it for another time. He had to eat it now or never.

It tasted just as always! Sirius consumed it very carefully and slowly. He chewed each bite more often than usual, and he tried to remember the taste for as long as possible. It took him over an hour to eat it. And by the end, he couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

_It was simply delicious._

* * *

Three days later, Tonks dragged him forcibly into the kitchen. She claimed she had a surprise for him. At first, Sirius didn't want to agree. For the last few days, he didn't feel like doing anything. He just wanted to lie in his room.

Besides, he still hadn't apologised to Tonks and Remus for his behaviour.

However, he noticed that his cousin had inherited her mother's stubbornness. So he eventually had no other choice and went down to the kitchen with her.

He found Remus and Molly already waiting for him there. Sirius was convinced that they had arranged some sort of intervention to talk about his behaviour. However, Tonks quickly explained to him the real reason for the meeting.

She made Sirius sit down at the table, and suddenly four plates were placed in front of him. On each of them was a cheese sandwich.

"Tonks, what is this?"

"Me, Mum, Remus and Molly made sandwiches for you. We tried to replicate the one I dropped. I am sure that at least one of them will be as good as that one."

_What?_

It took Sirius a moment to understand Tonks' words.

And then he wasn't sure what to think about it.

He felt like laughing. How would any of their sandwiches compare to Marlene's! Sirius was really close to exploding with rage again and telling them how idiotic their idea was. But then, he saw something in Tonks' face that immediately calmed his nerves.

It was only a small smile. But at the same time, it expressed a great lot.

Then he looked at the sandwich that she made.

The bread was crookedly sliced, the cheese was slightly burnt on one side, the rest of the ingredients were almost flowing outwards. This sandwich could win a contest for the world's ugliest sandwich. Marlene would never serve something like that.

Tonks wasn't a good cook. Actually, only a few months ago, she started learning how to cook from Remus. Their lessons always ended up with a terrible mess in the kitchen. And here she was, with the world's ugliest sandwich, trying to make him happy.

He realised then that Tonks just wanted to help him. She did it in one of the worst possible ways, but in the end, it's the intentions that count, right?

Finally, Sirius agreed to taste all four sandwiches. And he had to admit that they were all good.

"So, which one is the best?" Tonks asked.

Call me crazy, but yours, Tonks."

Sirius couldn't explain it to himself, but it really was so. The outside of her sandwich was genuinely awful. The taste of it, though, was fine. And if he had to be honest, there was something very close to Marlene's sandwich in it.

But it wasn't a sandwich from Marlene.

Something was missing. But Sirius couldn't tell what exactly it was.

The disappointment caused by this realisation must have reflected on his face. Tonks didn't pursue the subject of sandwiches further and just let Sirius go back to his room.

After that, she never tried to take any action related to that topic again.

* * *

A few months had passed since the sandwich incident, and a lot had changed since then. Or at least for the people around Sirius. He, on the other hand, was practically in the same place.

It was an ordinary day, and Sirius got up surprisingly quite early. He hadn't managed to fall asleep again, so he decided to go to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. He absolutely didn't expect to meet someone there.

"Good morning Tonks! What are you doing here so early?"

"Hey, Sirius! I made muffins for you guys. Do you want one?"

"For us? Or for Remus?"

Her cheeks turned instantly red.

The two of them had been playing cat and mouse for a while now. Sirius was very well aware of it, probably even better than they were. But until at least one of them would admit their feelings, Sirius could do nothing. So he waited and teased them to get a confession out of them. And he was sure Tonks would crack very soon.

"For you. Both of you. So, do you want a muffin or not?"

"Yes, please."

Tonks handed him a muffin that was overflowing with chocolate. The cake was chocolate, the icing was chocolate, and Sirius was sure there would probably be liquid chocolate inside.

"Are you sure you weren't thinking of someone special while preparing those muffins?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You know, there are only two residents in this house at the moment. One, after eating a strip of chocolate, already feels over-sweetened. And the other can eat a whole bar of chocolate by himself and then sip it with hot chocolate."

"I also can eat a whole bar of chocolate on my own," she said.

"I don't doubt that. But I'll repeat the question. Did you bake these muffins with **both** of us in mind? Hm?"

"You're weird, you know? Sorry Sirius, but I don't have time for your weird questions. I have to go to work."

That said, she ran out of the kitchen as if she was being chased by a furious hippogriff. Sirius laughed under his breath. Well, apparently, he has to wait a little longer before Tonks finally breaks.

Sirius bit off a piece of the chocolate muffin and started chewing it very slowly.

_That taste._

_No, that's not possible._

Sirius took another bite and was as focused as if he was solving some puzzle.

_Again._

_But it was impossible!_

He took another bite. And when he felt it for the third time, he could no longer deny it.

The muffin from Tonks tasted exactly like the cheese sandwich from Marlene.

Sirius grabbed his head, wondering how this was even possible. After all, these were two completely different dishes. They had practically nothing in common except...

Of course!

It looked like Tonks had cracked that day after all and didn't even know about it.

And Sirius finally found out what the secret ingredient was that made Marlene's sandwich so special.

The answer was so obvious that he laughed to himself that he hadn't thought of it before.

Because that ingredient was, of course, **love.**


End file.
